I Picked up a Planet, Do You Want It, President? - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Spore Infection

Gaia gave that excessively grotesque explanation in the calmest tone he could.

The rest of the people had goosebumps.

To be selected as a member of the exploration team, everyone was mentally prepared to sacrifice themselves, but no one wanted to die like that.

“Isn’t that very similar to the helminth parasite?” Douglas listened to Gaia describe the characteristics of the strange snake with morbid interest.

Hearing this, William and Brad, who were standing beside Douglas, could not help but move a few steps to the side, distancing themselves from him.

Gaia remained expressionless, but he thought to himself, “Is this guy’s head alright?”

Gaia had some understanding of the helminth parasite that Douglas mentioned.

Helminth parasites are domestic pests whose life cycle begins when an adult female fly finds an open wound to lay her eggs.

When they find a suitable host that can host more than 100 eggs, they lay their eggs inside and around the wound. These eggs then hatch into tiny larvae within 24 hours. In order for these tiny worms to grow, they needed food. The helminth parasite would use its sharp jaws and ugly fangs to dig further into the host’s flesh and start eating it.

In the process, the host would clearly be able to feel his own flesh and blood being eaten bit by bit.

In the past, when medical science was not as developed, being infected with this parasite was equivalent to a death sentence, and a horribly slow and painful one at that.

As he spoke, Douglas put on his protective gear and carefully put the snake away.

Keeping these things for research could reduce the number of casualties in the future.

Especially when more troops start to arrive.

——————————

“Congratulations on taking the first step, user! The user’s exploration range has reached 500m. 100 points shall be awarded.”

The voice in his head stopped Gaia in his tracks briefly.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued moving forward.

The system was Gaia’s biggest secret. It was the crutch that could carry him to the top.

Gaia could not tell anyone, nor could he let anyone notice any abnormality about him.

“I wonder if there are 100 points for every 500 meters, or if it’s just a one-time thing.” Gaia felt that it was the latter.

After what happened just now, everyone’s pace slowed down a lot. With every step they took, they looked around vigilantly.

Everyone also started positioning themselves around Gaia. From time to time, they would glance over at Gaia’s expression before proceeding.

After walking for a few meters, Gaia suddenly caught a whiff of an intense stench.

Gaia’s expression became serious as his footsteps slowed down.

Sure enough, after walking for a few meters, he saw a huge spore.

The spore was extremely huge. It was several meters tall, and there were sarcoma-like blobs growing on it.

It seemed to be pulsating, almost like it was breathing. Around it, there were piles of animal carcasses. Its well-developed roots were slotted into these bodies, extracting the blood and flesh as nutrients.

Horrifyingly, the surface of the spore was covered with dark red capillary-like streams of blood. They looked like a giant net, tightly wrapped around the spore’s body.

The moment Gaia saw this blood-red color, warning signs started to flash in his mind.

This was Attuned to Nature warning him that the thing in front of him was extremely dangerous.

Gaia suddenly remembered the wolf monsters from last night.

Last night, after he got down the steel wall, he also saw a carcass of a wolf monster.

The bottom of the wolf monster’s eyes was similar to the spore in front of him. They were both filled with these crimson red threads of blood.

It was obvious that they were all infected with the same virus. The spore in front of them was a classic example of an infected crop.

Gaia slowly retreated. His footsteps were light, he did not want to make too much movement.

The other members of the team were also terrified. This was the first time they had seen Gaia so cautious and scared.

After two days of working together, they had trusted Gaia completely. If even Gaia was afraid of these spores in front of them, that meant that these spores were extremely dangerous.

“Slow down your breathing, keep calm!”

Under normal circumstances, the nearby spores would definitely also be infected. The amber snail was too small, so they could not use it as bait.

“Slow down your breathing, keep calm!”

Gaia repeatedly reminded himself as he stared down the infected spore. He could not afford to attract the attention of the spore. They definitely needed a lot more firepower to destroy this giant spore.

Attacking right now would be equivalent to serving themselves up in a silver platter.

At the same time, he gestured to William and the others, telling them to follow exactly as he does in order not to attract the attention of the infected spore.

After retreating more than 30 meters, Gaia was about to turn around. However, what greeted him gave him a fright.

Right by his side, there was a shriveled snail lying there with spores growing on its back. It was obviously infected.

At that moment, their eyes met.

“Crap!”

Without a second thought, Gaia turned around and sprinted with all his might.

“Run!” Gaia shouted with all his strength.

When the others saw the snail, they were instantly on high alert.

That was the snail that could spurt pus.

As soon as Gaia finished speaking, all of them started to run with all their might.

No one had expected that Douglas, who looked thin and frail, to suddenly be at the very front.

He was even carrying a storage jar that weighed dozens of kilograms on his back.

The other members were obviously much more trained than Gaia, so they all ran ahead.

Gaia immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

He roared angrily, “Motherf*ckers! Wait for me!”

As soon as he said this, William and the others realized that Gaia had fallen behind.

William and Brad quickly ran back. The two of them propping Gaia up on their shoulders before continuing to run.

Coo! Coo!

The actions of the team had alerted the snails. They let out a hoarse and ear-piercing cry.

The spore forest was like a wasp nest that had just been disturbed. It was chaos. Every spore cluster burst open was spewing out powder everywhere.

Tsss! Tsss! Tsss!

Yellow powder shrouded the place, instantly enveloping the spore forest.

Their vision was disrupted

Shing! Shing!

Douglas, who was at the front, waved his machete around, clearing any obstacles. At the same time, he fled with all his might, taking the route that they had come from.

COO COO! COO COO!

There was obviously more than one snail that had been parasitized by the spores. They were originally weak creatures, but after the infection, the bacteria took over their bodies. Spreading the bacteria became its only instinct, causing them to mindlessly chase the gorup.